Breaking the Mold: A Birth Story
A category 4 hurricane was coming our way and we had to evacuate our home. Did you know that large pressure changes, which happen during major storms, can induce labor? Wait a minute. I just said yes to our first home birth and now I might be delivering this baby in someone else’s (a complete stranger’s, nonetheless) house? Lord have mercy!
The Night Jesus Came to Us
All I could see was the back of his hand, which was holding his head. Both were covered with an extreme amount of blood which ran down the back of his shirt soaking it to a dark red. I immediately thanked Jesus for sparing my son’s life.
He Will Wipe Away Every Tear
That these stories–and so many, many more–are real and are happening even now should affect me and compel me. They should move me into action as my heart is broken and put back together to look more like Jesus’ heart, which burns extra brightly with love for the poor.
Missionaries Anywhere
My restless nature wants to know answers and make plans, but maybe this is my crucible moment. I am the target of missionary work at this moment—the mission of Christ to make me patient and humble in the face of a society that is impatient and prideful. And so, I pour out the love I have from the Father to the only people I can in this time—my own family.
The Friend Request That Made a Difference
Since my initial communications with Maq this group has developed and evolved into something I could never have imagined and has been a huge blessing in my life. The goal of this group is to give MKs from every background and denomination a place of understanding, acceptance and fellowship.
World Mission Sunday and the Baptismal Call
Some of us may be called to go further out, but the vocation is always an active one because the Holy Spirit is constantly moving, constantly burning, constantly alive!
Two Types of People
Brad and I were hanging out one evening after our kids were in bed wondering why we were so dissatisfied climbing this ladder of the American dream. Where did we fit in this life? We felt like such outcasts. Where did God want us in all of this? We owned successful businesses and could buy nice things for our house. Everybody wants that and it’s totally normal — so why were we so unsatisfied? What was wrong with us?
How He Called
He did not accept it, He gave it back saying, “not like this.” This was troubling to me because I was convicted that God wanted it. Every day this happened, until the fourth day when I realized that the Lord did not want that ‘yes,’ because coupled with that ‘yes’ were expectations, fears, and anxieties. I was giving a ‘yes’ but I was not trusting the Lord with its entirety.
A Surprising Lunch with Friends
Yu Hou came in with pizza, our lunch! There is actually a Pizza Hut (!) in the city but we have not gone yet. I immediately appreciated how they were thoughtful about what we might like to eat.
Mercy and Melted Ice Cream
Instead of cleaning out my freezer, I could have been looking over the shredded remains of our home. I could have been facing the loss of everything we own. God protected us from that devastation, and although I rejoiced for a day or so, I immediately fell back into self-pity over a few hours of gross housework? How quickly I forget!
Beautiful Feet
[The Bible] doesn’t specify if the feet are old or young, clean or dirty, what color they are. They are just beautiful.
Even So, God is at Work!
These past months have not turned out as we had imagined they would. Many of our visitors were unable to come due to borders closing, mission trips were cancelled, ministries were prohibited to continue. Even so, God is at work in our lives and the lives of those around us.
Helping Orphans When Others Can’t
“Oh, there are many suffering. Where do we begin?” After discussing several options we agreed to start with a nearby orphanage where a small group of nuns care for 81 kids who were born HIV+.
Erik’s Reflection on Pentecost
Erik expects an unprecedented Pentecost for unprecedented times. “It’s my prayer that we would no longer keep Christ quarantined within our homes, within our church walls — that we would be bold proclaimers of the Gospel.”
Natalia’s Reflection on the Ascension
Natalia Schumann reflects on the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven and His last words to his disciples. #thegreatcommission
Lockdown Ministry in Peru
I never knew living in solidarity with the poor meant being locked away from them for weeks! I think about what St. Paul must have felt when he was imprisoned: his ministries were halted by the authorities and he was unable to share the Good News as he planned. However St. Paul did not sit idle during his confinement.
A Missionary in a Pandemic
“I certainly didn’t plan for a worldwide pandemic to happen in my first year back in the field,” I shared with her. “None of us knew that this would happen,” she said. “But the Lord knew. And He still called you.” She encouraged me to sit with that, not as a reason to either stay or go, but rather to really give everything back to the Lord and seek Him in each situation.
